Korea Gas Corp. on Monday denied a local report that it plans to invest in South Pars gas field in Iran, making it the first Korean company to invest in the Middle East country that had been slapped with international economic sanctions over its nuclear program.

According to local reports quoting officials at the Trade Ministry, the state-run company recently sent its officials to discuss ways to invest in the world’s largest gas field, which has been running behind in its development schedule due to the sanctions. The trip was made on the invitation of the Iranian government, the report said.

KOGAS, however, flatly denied the report, saying that there was no such meeting.

“It is not true that KOGAS has been negotiating to participate in specific projects including the development of the gas field in Iran. Neither did the company receive any request from the Iranian government,” the company said in a statement.

South Pars is the world’s largest gas field and is located in the Persian Gulf. The field, shared between Iran and Qatar, holds 8 percent of the world’s gas reserves.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)